Students, staff and visitors now have a new option for way-finding at Carolina. UNC-Chapel Hill has partnered with CampusBird to develop an elegant and powerful mapping solution for our campus. The new interactive map can be accessed at maps.unc.edu.
Providing visitors with a tool to easily explore campus on their mobile devices was also important to Engineering Services staff, who implemented the new solution. The website maps.unc.edu can be accessed on both PC and mobile devices and is compatible with all popular browsers. Users can use the site to navigate campus, zoom in for highly detailed 3D renderings of campus buildings and landmarks, and get detailed descriptions of locations and services. Maps and directions can be printed, shared, and embedded in departmental websites. Current points of interest that have been mapped include:
- ADA Accessibility
- Buildings
- Parking
- Points of Interest
- Services
- Sustainability
- Transit
Users can drill down within each category to find Visitor Parking, Gender Neutral Restrooms, Dining Services, Chapel Hill Transit stops and more. Additional content will be added in the coming months, including virtual campus tours, 360-degree panoramas, and event specific information. The ability to quickly update and customize the map will allow for the integration and centralization of information from across campus.
Abbas Piran, Director of Engineering Information Services, says he and his staff chose the CampusBird platform “because it allows us to combine a beautifully rendered 3D map with advanced software to create, manage and share interactive content and media with our visitors and campus community.” CampusBird, a division of Concept 3D, has worked with over 250 colleges, universities and community colleges to create interactive campus experiences. They currently work with several North Carolina institutions, including Duke University, Wake Forest, and N.C. State.
Since the map’s launch, Piran says that his department has received “excellent feedback and also several good suggestions for new features.” For questions and comments, please email maps@unc.edu.